UAE Diplomat: Iran Must Stop Regional Attacks Before Peace Talks Can Begin

A senior United Arab Emirates diplomat says Iran must cease its attacks on neighboring countries before any mediation efforts can proceed. The official expressed confidence that President Trump will eventually lead diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

A high-ranking diplomat from the United Arab Emirates stated Friday that Iran must stop launching attacks against regional neighbors before any meaningful peace negotiations can take place.

Lana Nusseibeh, who previously served as the UAE’s ambassador to the United Nations and currently holds a minister of state position in the country’s foreign ministry, believes the ongoing conflict will eventually reach a diplomatic resolution through President Trump’s leadership.

“Ultimately, it will be a diplomatic solution, but there needs to be that tipping point moment, and I think that president Trump will lead us all to that moment in his time,” Nusseibeh stated during the interview.

When questioned about potential mediation efforts, she emphasized that Iranian aggression must cease first. “It is difficult to talk about mediation when under attack… Mediation can only happen when the guns go silent,” she explained.

Nusseibeh revealed that during diplomatic talks in Tehran just two weeks before hostilities began, Iranian officials provided no warning that the UAE would become a target. This lack of advance notice made Iran’s subsequent attacks “so shocking and so egregious,” according to the diplomat.

Iranian leadership has justified their strikes as targeting American military presence throughout the region. The UAE joins several other nations including Gulf states, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey in hosting U.S. military installations.

The conflict has seen drone and missile strikes against UAE civilian targets, including Dubai’s airport, prominent hotels, and the nation’s financial center.

REBUILDING TRUST WILL PROVE CHALLENGING

The UAE diplomat indicated her country maintains regular communication with the Trump administration, describing the relationship as a robust strategic partnership.

Nusseibeh refrained from criticizing American or Israeli military actions against Iran, suggesting these operations should be considered separately from what she termed Iran’s “egregious illegal and unlawful attacks on the Gulf countries and Jordan.”

She warned that returning to pre-conflict diplomatic relations with Iran would prove difficult “as you look around at the destruction and the chaos that Iran has caused in the region.”

According to Nusseibeh, Iran appears to be targeting the UAE’s economic foundation, which has attracted approximately 700,000 Iranian residents. However, she argued that the Iranian strikes have demonstrated “our economy is strong and robust and resilient.”

“People are back at work, our airports are open, flights are taking off. It’s the Iranian economy that was already strangled by sanctions and economic pressure that is going into freefall. It’s their currency that’s going into freefall,” she concluded.